Fall From Innocence
by Evelyn Panda
Summary: Murders start plaguing the best part of Fall Creek, Oregon, and the murderer is targeting young boys ranging from age twelve to age sixteen. And Sora happens to be the most recent object of desire.
1. Sora

Fall From Innocence

**Sora**

It was yet another average day for Sora. The fourteen-year-old brunet glanced in the mirror real fast, smiling lightly at his reflection. He was currently dressed in a pair of black and red, mesh tripps that had the zip off legs to turn into shorts, an iron fist, grey and black stripe, v-neck t-shirt with a pair of plain black arm-warmers and a pair of black, steel-toed boots. Hanging off his shoulder was a black messenger bag with the Angry Beaver's on it, and above them were the words; That Was Nuts!

Through the top to the bottom of his left ear was a bar-bell with a black ball at the bottom, and on the top ball was a glow in the dark ball. In his right eye brow was a silver bar bell, spiked on both ends. There was a bracelet with five burnished gold chains in the center that linked to gun metal rings. Around his neck hung a silver crown necklace. On his right, middle finger was a gem accented, angel wing ring that crossed into a heart.

With a nod, the doe-eyed brunet turned and walked from the room, patting his messenger back to make sure his ice skates, and his first aid kit was still in there as he made his way down the stairs. "I'm heading out!" He called through the house, pulling the front door open, locking it behind him, just in case.

It was a thirty minute walk, but Sora turned it into a twenty minute run. Inside the building, he made his way to the front, smiling as he pulled his iPod from his pocket, putting the headphones on as he took a seat to switch from his boots to his skates before he was on the ice, the legs to his pants sitting with his bag so they wouldn't catch on the skates.

He was too lost in his own little world he didn't notice that there was someone sitting in the very back row, watching him from the shadows. Or the emerald-eyed, blond watching from the manager's office. With a smile, the blond got up from his seat, saving any files he had been going over for his father before he made his way down to the ice. Not even he was aware of the lingering man.

As Sora turned to start skating backwards, he stopped any and all movements, a smile gracing his features as he let himself slide along the ice as he pulled the headphones off. "Hey!" He called over, and Oz grinned.

"Yo! You're running a little late for a Saturday, aren't ya?" Oz asked as Sora made his way over to where he was, catching the wall with a sheepish smile.

"I was up a little late last night, and over slept. I was trying to get a school project out of the way so I have the entire weekend to work on my routine." Sora replied.

"You could've called, I would've came over to help." Oz offered, and Sora gave him another sheepish smile.

"Well..." the brunet started, and Oz tilted his head. "Riku was over last night. He was helping me a little, but you know I prefer to do my own work." he finished, making a face when Oz made a face at Riku's name.

"I see..." he murmured, looking away.

"Oz Bezarius." Sora warned.

"What! He use to be a drug addict. I'm worr..." Oz trailed as Sora lowered the arm-warmer on his right arm, showing the many scars, and some fresh, but old, cuts. "Sora..." Oz sighed, letting his eyes slide closed.

"I haven't been doing it much since Riku and I started hanging out. Give him the benefit of the doubt." he tried. He wanted his two best friends to at least get along. "But, on a lighter note!" Sora then tried, smiling a bit when he got Oz to perk up some. "You should throw on some skates and join me on the ice. It'll be fun, and it'll take our minds off of everything. Unless, you're intimidated by my awesome skating skills." He said the last part in a slightly cocky tone, causing Oz to raise a brow at him.

"You're kidding, right? I'll show you who's better at ice skating!" Oz took the bate. "Just as soon as I get my skates on." He added, turning to get his skates, which were conveniently placed near the rink.

It took about sixty seconds before Oz was on the ice with Sora, and the two of them were having a skating contest.

The two lost track of time, and before they knew it, it was getting late. The only indication to this was Sora's cell phone. Somehow, the boy had managed to find a way to make the ring too loud for a phone. 'Tetras' sounded throughout the rink, and Oz jumped, nearly falling over as it echoed. He would never be use to that. Sora squeaked and looked over, making a face as he started towards his bag, grabbing his phone from the seat and looking at the ID.

"Crap! It's Mom." He murmured, flipping it open and holding up his hand to Oz. "I'm sorry! I'm still at the rink. I'm here with...Huh? Yeah...Tacos? Kay, hold up!" Sora paused every so often, then looked up at Oz. "Tacos?" He asked, tilting his head.

"You bet!" Oz called back, hurrying over to the edge.

"Yep! Okay, love you Mom, be home in about thirty." Sora then said into the phone and hung up, before he started to switch back into his boots. As Oz finished tying his shoes, he looked up at Sora, who was re-zipping the legs to his pants.

"I have to go lock up the office real fast, and let the old man know where I'm headed. Be back in five." He said, getting up and running up the steps to the office. Sora nodded and watched him as he stood and readjusted his pant-legs, glancing around the rink a bit. He forgot how cold it got once you stopped skating. Sitting back down, he rearranged the stuff in his bag and looked up towards the office, frowning at the tinted windows.

He wasn't fond of not being able to see inside a room with windows. It just crept him out, and made him think he was being watched. _Duh! Oz is in there. He's probably watching me right now._ Sora thought and shook his head, standing and stretching. However, now he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Slowly turning in his seat, he made a face. "This place is frickin' creepy." He muttered, turning back around in his seat and relaxed while he waited, closing his eyes.

In the office, Oz just smiled as he watched Sora from his spot, after he shut down the computer, the phone to his ear. Sure enough, he got the answering machine. "Yo, old man! I'm having dinner at Sora's tonight. I'll letcha know if I wind up staying the night. Love ya, bye!" He chirped into the phone, hanging up before standing, a frown grazing his lips when he saw a door fall closed. Quickly, he started from the office, making his way towards the end of the row where Sora sat. "C'mon! I'm ready!" He called, snickering when Sora jumped and snapped around with a pout.

"Not cool, Ozwald." He murmured, getting up and slinging the bag over his shoulder before following after the blond.

Thirty minutes passed by and Sora pushed open the front door, only to be greeted by his older sister, Midna, who was coming down the steps. "Hey, welcome home, kiddo." She said with a small smile, flicking a wave to Oz as she started towards the kitchen, motioning for them to follow. Sora glanced at Oz with a smile and took hold of his wrist, following behind Midna, Oz following Sora willingly, not objecting to being pulled by the brunet. "Take it you were at the rink all day?" Midna asked as she looked over her shoulder at Sora, glancing back towards Oz with curious eyes. "You're taking care of my brother, yes?" She then asked the blond as Sora made a face.

"I don't need a babysitter, Middy!" he whined, puffing out his cheeks. "Do I, Oz?" He then asked, glancing to the blond. When the attention was on him, he smiled automatically.

"He doesn't need to be baby-sat. If you're as good as he is, anyone would be afraid to get attacked by a skat. It's a skater's best weapon, after all." He pointed out, making Sora blink, then smile and nod as he turned back to Midna, who laughed a little.

"Funny, but true." She said, pausing when she heard Roxas asking their mother something. "Hey! Not at the table. Sora has a hard time eating as it is." She scolding, leaving the two youngest boys to walk over and whack Roxas over the head.

"Ow! Hey! That was uncalled for!" Roxas growled, lifting his arm to smack her back.

"Roxas, don't do it." A woman's voice sounded, and both teens looked over to Danny, their mother. "Midna, behave yourself." She warned, turning her attention to Oz now, catching the amused look in the blond's emerald irises. He had been a friend of the family for years, so none of it made him feel awkward. "And welcome back, Oz. I hope everything's going good with your dad's business, yes?" She then asked, making light conversation. Oz was one of her favorite kids that any of her children hung out with. As far as she was concerned, he

was a well-behaved kid. "I hope everything's going well with your dad's business." She then offered, tilting her head.

"Oh... Ha. Yeah, everything's going great! We're going to host the state skating tournament!" He told Danny excitedly, before looking at Sora. "Better setp up your game. We're going against last year's winning team!" Hearing this, Sora's eyes got big, and he flailed. The information and the look on her youngest son's face caused amusement to cross her features.

"Now, Oz, don't tease or he'll work himself to death." She warned in a scolding, 'motherly' tone of voice before motioning to the stove and counter-top. "Dinner's done, but I have to run. Someone misplaced a file at the office, so I have to go and redo my report." She explained, walking towards the door, patting the boys on the head as she passed. Sora blinked and turned a bit with a frown.

"Mom, try not to be in the office too late tonight." He said with a mild look of worry. He always thought she worked too long into the night, and it made him nervous, but his brothers always told him he worried too much.

"Don't worry, now eat. Oz can stay if he wants." She then said, waving as she walked out the doors. Oz's smile widened at the permission to stay, and Sora glanced over just as Roxas turned his attention on the two of them.

"Seriously, when are you two gonna start dating?" He asked, getting up from his seat, causing Sora's face to go red.

"Let's eat in my room, Oz..." He murmured. Oz's smile disappeared at Roxas' comment then.

"Hey, Roxy. Instead of playing matchmaker for us, you should do it for yourself and... I don't know... Actually get a date?" He retorted as he picked up his plate as a way to tell Sora 'okay'.

Roxas choked on his soda, and Midna laughed at Oz's retaliation. "Ah, why couldn't you have been my triplet?" She asked in a slightly joking manner, causing Roxas to shoot her a glare.

"Get bent, Mid." Roxas glared, and the two began to bicker as Sora grabbed his own plate and began to lead Oz up to his room with a murr.

"Meh, can't spend one second out of my room without Roxas hounding me about dating." He muttered, pushing the door open for Oz, stepping aside to let him in first.

**T.B.C.**

**~Panda~**


	2. Bezarius

Bezarius

It was around midnight by the time Oz had left the Strife residence. He could have stayed over much longer or better yet stayed the night, but he didn't like leaving his mom to be alone for too long. So, he naturally made an excuse that his mom wanted him home because of a big project due on Monday. He didn't like lying to Sora since they've been friends since they were infants. Oz always felt the need to protect him from assholes like Riku, who couldn't keep his smart-ass mouth shut. He didn't see how Sora could remain friends with someone who was still a drug addict and could easily bring danger to his family. The brunette already had to recover from an eating disorder, which increased Oz's need to keep him safe. Sora was always too trusting, sometimes he wished that he would look at the bigger picture. But instead of scolding him of his choices, Oz decided to head home for the night. Nothing good came out of a situation if you push someone over the 'edge'.

His parents never really bothered to give him a curfew since they trusted him to not do anything illegal. So that left him a lot of options. Oz wasn't really a trouble maker, he just gave trouble to the people who decide to be total assholes to the people he cared about. Because of that he would often serve in school suspensions or after-school detentions. His mother always agreed with his choices since it was to defend his friends. Only because she would have done the same thing if it were one of her friends. His dad just didn't seem to care about what he did, it's more like Oz didn't really exist.

His father spent a lot of time out of the house due to being a well-known lawyer. A lot of people call him because he hasn't lost one case yet. If there was a suspect for murder they would be safe if they had Zai Bezarius to represent them in court. Some people gossip about his father keeping murderers from serving time in the jail cells or even death-row. Those people are usually the people who are friends of the victim's family. The rest of the people would praise him for his brilliance and say that Oz was lucky to have a father like him. They say that he should look up to a man that serves his community and his country by 'freeing' the 'innocent'.

What a joke.

Why would he look up to the man who let's the criminals roam free? As far as he was concerned Zai Bezarius might as well be labeled a criminal like the rest of his clients. And how could he bring himself to respect a man who doesn't spend enough time with his family? Sometimes he wondered if he would be able to remember his father's face if he didn't have pictures around the house to remind him. Hell, if he were to address his so-called-father he would address him by his first name. Zai will earn the right to be called a father when he starts acting like one. Sometimes he wondered how his mother could call him a husband... He knew his mother wasn't the type of person to put up with it, but she was the type who was fiercely loyal to the person she was with.

Her loyalty is wasted.

Calista Marie Bezarius is a favorite in the small town that they lived in. She dedicates her time to the community and she never judges someone before getting to know them. That is, unless she knows for sure that they're up to no good. When Calista wasn't home she was balancing two jobs. Managing and coaching the skating team, or serving people at the Crow. The diner had the best meals in Fall Creek. Not to mention the best homemade ice cream. Oz would always stop by there in the mornings, before school, and grab a cup of coffee. He won't drink coffee if it didn't come from the Crow Diner. There was something about their coffee that made it different than everyone elses. Or maybe he was just being biased because his mom is always the one making it.

She always did make good coffee...

It disturbed Oz, that his mom didn't need to work two jobs. Zai made enough money to take care of all the bills. He brought it up to her and she just simply smiled and told him that it kept her busy. How could he argue with that? As much as he wanted his mom to just sit back for a day and relax... He knew it wasn't going to happen. That was part of the reason why he avoided asking his mother for anything. He didn't need his dad, he didn't need anything else. As long as he and his mom were happy that's all that mattered to him. Call him a momma's boy... He would just shrug it off. They didn't know what it was like to have a deadbeat dad. Well, to his knowledge anyway. But he was sure that if they did, they wouldn't be so judgmental on the subject.

It didn't matter.: They could all kiss his ass if they didn't like it.

At that thought, Oz finally reached his house. It normally didn't take more than five minutes, but he wanted to take his time and enjoy the nice Autumn night. He was a little surprised that the door was unlocked, but then he thought that Danny might have called his mom and let her know that he was on his way. When he got in the house, he was sure to shut the door all the way and lock it before kicking his shoes off into the nearest corner. He was about to put his jacket into the coat closet, but stopped with his hand on the knob, just as he heard footsteps coming from upstairs. Slowly dropping his hand to his side, he looked over to the stair case while walking to the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom?" He called out into the darkness.

There wasn't a single light on.

The sounds increased and he could have sworn he heard a male's voice. He grounded his teeth together as he slowly backed away from the staircase. Turning quickly when he was half way to the kitchen, he walked swiftly to the silverware drawer and grabbed the handle that belonged to a butcher's knife. His hand tightened around the handle in a death grip as he inched closer to the stairs. When his foot landed on the first step, he heard a crashing noise. Something had hit the wall or the floor. He couldn't tell just by the sound.

Did his mom ever come home?

This thought made a growl escape his throat. What if they had done something to his mom? He couldn't remember whether or not she said that she was going to be home early. The thought made his blood boil as he hurried up the stairs. He didn't even care if they were armed or not. If someone broke into the house, he wasn't going to let them get away so easily.

"Mom!" He called out again, but there was no reply.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he made a sharp turn and ran to his Mother's room. That was where the sounds were coming from. His hand reached out for the doorknob and opened it to an empty room. His emerald eyes scanned the room. 'Empty...' He thought with suspicion. He walked toward the window and observed the lock. It appeared to be locked. And it was closed... What the fuck?

His eyes were glued to the building just outside the window. His mind was too wrapped around thoughts, on what could have caused the noise, that he didn't hear someone walking towards him, with bright shaggy blue hair and crimson irises flashing maliciously at the back of Oz's head. The floor sounded below and it broke Oz's train of thought. His emerald eyes widened as he turned around. When he did, his hand shot up and grabbed hold of his attacker's gun from slapping him upside the head. A soft growl rumbled in his throat as he tried to push the man back so he could get away from the window. The last thing he needed was to be cornered. He succeeded and the stranger backed away ten steps so he was closer to the door, but made no hints that he was going to try and run out of the room.

"What the fuck do you want?" Oz growled out, narrowing his eyes at his attacker.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You're in my house. So you better tell me." Oz said in a dangerously low voice. "Where's my mom?"

"What's with all this 'mommy' crap? Shouldn't you be old enough to get out on your own?" The man asked in a dull tone.

Oz grounded his teeth together and tightened his hold on the butcher's knife as his eyes were trained on the gun. His eyes widened when the man lifted it to aim at his face.

"Don''t worry. You'll see your mom... Very soon."

**-Evelyn-**

**A/N: Review, pretty please? :D **


	3. Crime Scene Investigation

Fall From Innocence

**Crime Scene Investigation**

Danny had been called in early, not that she was complaining, and found herself sitting at her desk, looking over a file with her 'partner' sitting on top of the oak surface. "Mitch, please, get your fat-ass off my desk." Danny pleaded for the millionth time that week, lifting her gaze to meet his, frowning at the look in his eyes.

"Fat, huh? You have room to talk. Looks like you've put on a bit of weight over the last week. Looks like you over did it with the donuts there, sweety." He replied, yelping when Danny actually stood and shoved him off the desk. Luckily, he caught himself and stood, making a slightly annoyed face. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed..." He muttered, having a stare-down with her.

Danny wasn't really a morning person to begin with, but she was usually better by lunch time. However, she still seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood. There was usually one explanation for this; Cloud had called her in the middle of the night, while she was trying to sleep, and started something with her over the kids. As if the custody battle wasn't enough strain on her nerves.

To Mitch, Danny was like a little sister, and anyone that fucked with her was just asking to get their asses kicked by him... If Danny didn't beat him to it. The woman was a bit trigger happy sometimes, but the job called for it. That was always her excuse when her gun would 'accidentally' go off. Mitch had talked her into getting a be-be gun to carry with her, to keep her out of too much trouble.

And there was maybe a tiny hint of a crush on her...

But that would be a waste of money, he thought. He knew Danny didn't care for much, just attention and affection when it was needed. Otherwise, she was content with everything she had.

Just as Mitch was about to ask her what, or rather confront her about Cloud calling the night before, their boss walked in. The man was a short, jolly-looking man with a good sense of humor, and an even better personality...If you were on his good side. Danny and Mitch happened to be his two favorite workers, seeing as how, despite all their bickering, the two always got their job done thoroughly, with little to no screw-ups. Not to mention, the two were always on top of everything. If someone else screwed up, one of the two would pick up on it, fix it and finish it.

"You two can argue later. You have a job to do." the man's booming voice sounded, causing them both to jump and look over to him as he held up a file. "There was a break-in last night at this address. I need you to look into it, kay?" He asked them. As Danny's eyes fell on the file folder, the color in her face drained.

"Calista and Oz." She breathed, grabbing her jacket. "Was anyone hurt?" She then asked, grabbing the folder, already starting for the door, both males following her.

"The boy was shot in the shoulder. I guess he tried to attack the intruder with a butcher knife. They're running tests on the blood right now. Danny..." The man started, grabbing her arm. "I'm giving this to you two because I know you're close to the family, but remember to do your job first, alright? And keep a clear head about it too, got it?"

"I got her." Mitch said, waving his hand dismissively as he walked past them, glancing over his shoulder with a small smirk. "She's your top female cop, is she not? Let's go, Dan." He then said, and Danny smiled at the man, before she turned and followed after Mitch, though the smile was obviously forced, and it faded as soon as she was out the front doors.

"I can't believe I didn't hear about this sooner." she murmured as they climbed into Mitch's car. The thought of anyone else interrogating Oz made her growl lightly. He was family to her, as was Oz's mother. "I hope Calista's okay..."

"Calm down, Danny. You're gonna give yourself a hernia, worrying like that." He said, glancing to her through the corner of his eyes as the engine roared to life. Backing up, he began to pull out of the parking lot and started in the direction of the hospital. Danny didn't say anything back, just kept her eyes glued to the street in front of them, and Mitch could tell she was getting antsy.

Thirty minutes later, Mitch found himself following Danny to the receptionist's desk, holding out their badges as they got close. "We need to know which room Oz Bezarius is in."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but they requested that no one..."

"She's a close family friend, and in a bad mood. You'd be wise to just tell us." Mitch cut her off, seeing the agitated look in Danny's eyes. Without second thought, she gave them the room, and they were off.

**~Panda~**


	4. Custody Battles and Family Fueds

**Missing Persons, custody battles and family feuds**

The news was going haywire over the missing person reports. It wasn't just Calista that went missing, but two people as well. Parents were becoming more adamant about letting their children out of their sight. And there have been rumours that the people who have been reported as missing, had some sort of relation to the Strife family. Those rumours were going to make everything more difficult for them. Not just because the Strife triplet's friends are going to be kept from them, but also for the custody battle that Danny has to prepare for.

When their divorce was finalized, Danny and Cloud agreed on joint custody, it wasn't until Sora's tenth birthday, that Cloud had shown any interest in battling for full custody. The marriage didn't fail because of anything serious. They were simply two adults that fell out of love with each other. So, it was a mutual divorce and no one was hurt... Except the kids took more of the hit for it. Sora and Midna seemed to hold up just fine, but it was Roxas and Ventus that needed time to cope.

Sora was four years, Roxas, Midna, and Ventus were six when the divorce was finalized. It broke her heart the first few weeks with Cloud gone. The kids were so confused and kept asking for the dad or asking where he went. Ever since then, Roxas and Ventus developed their father's habits of keeping to himself. They prefer to spend the day either going on walks or simply just locking themselves away in their rooms. Sometimes when she would walk into a room, Ventus would be lost in a book while Roxas is staring out a window with a distant look in his eyes.

Midna and Sora coped differently. Those two were a couple of social butterflies. They would always beg to go outside and play with their friends, if not, then they would ask Danny to play a game with them. Sora's feelings toward the divorce wasn't noticed until she had learned about her son's poor eating habits. Cloud would call her during his visit with the kids, and tell her about how Sora refused to eat some of the food he made. Danny brushed it off as bad cooking skills, but it wasn't until those habits were brought home, that she realized it was a serious problem.

Sora began to show off his weight loss. Most of his clothes wouldn't fit him any more: all his jeans were baggy on him, and his arms looked even more fragile than before. When she noticed Sora take his shirt off, his rib cage was more apparent. She had taken him to the doctor's immediately and set him up for therapy sessions. Her youngest son was still recovering from Anorexia. When he turned twelve, and everything seemed to be going fine, it eventually developed into Bulimia.

Sora was eating but he was throwing it up afterward. When she realized what was really going on, she had Sora take up therapy once more. For a while she felt like she was doing something wrong if her youngest son was going through so much pain. Sometimes she wondered that, if she had noticed sooner, if it could have been prevented. She knew she shouldn't dwell on the 'what-ifs' but it was a very hard thing to do when your kid was in pain. And not only Sora, but it was difficult for her to get Roxas and Ventus to open up with their thoughts on certain things.

They were more sensitive when it came to certain topics. Growing up, they also seemed to have developed Cloud's anger issues as well. Mostly Roxas: Danny had discovered Roxas' favorite past-time was to draw out the death scenes of the people at school in his sketchbook. Ventus developed another habit from Cloud, which was his silent rage. Cloud did have anger issues, but most of the time he kept it to himself until it eventually explodes in a violent rage. Ventus usually hides away in his books, doing his best to block out the world. Every time Danny would ask him a question, he sometimes won't answer her verbally. Instead, he would just nod without even looking at her. Like he didn't even notice she was there.

It wasn't like she didn't try to get her children out of these habits, she really did. She tried to get Roxas and Ventus to go to therapy sessions. That only ended in disaster. Both Roxas and Ventus would act up and do the opposite of everything she tells them. Now that they are a little older, it's been a little bit better. If you want to exclude Roxas getting into fights and grades dropping. Ventus has been keeping at his grades and learning to distract himself with work. And nowadays, that was his hideout. Whereas... Roxas makes it difficult for her to keep track of him. Now he's more prone to lying to her than anything else.

One day he'll say he's at Axel's. Then she calls his house, and his mom notifies her that Roxas never showed up there. Cloud thinks that he would be able to keep a better watch on Roxas. There were even a few times where she'd discover that Roxas went to the other side of town to go see his father. She knew that she shouldn't be upset about it, but could any one really blame her?

Not only was she worried about her kids, but now her childhood friend, Calista, was reported missing. It was day two and there was nothing to be found on the person who could have done it. Blood tests were taken, and they matched up as Keagan Rheyes. The only problem with that was: Keagan Rheyes died two years ago. His car went over a bridge and he drowned before anyone could rescue him. But how could that be? It didn't make any sense!

This case was really making her restless, she wanted to just go out and question every single person who had blue hair and red eyes that closely resembled Keagan Rheyes. It wasn't illegal. She was an investigator. It was her job to investigate a disappearance of someone close to her. She would be glad to snap at anyone who tells her she can't because of getting too 'emotionally' involved.

Fuck them.

Until their best friend goes missing, and they are able to let it go, she doesn't want to hear shit from them. Her eyes scanned the article that a reporter wrote on the three missing people. A light scoff escaped her lips with disbelief at what she read.

_There is a good chance that these three people were killed._

Some reporter.

If Danny had her way, she'd fire her ass in a heartbeat. Or, even better, toss her ass in a pit of lava. Now that sounded like a hot time.

Her bluish green eyes tore away from the computer screen at the sound of the door opening. Instantly they narrowed at the sight of Zai Bezarius.

Now there's a face you don't see often.

"Well, this is a shocker..." She started but stopped when Cloud entered the room, following the lawyer into the room. So far, she didn't like where this was going. Not at all. "What the hell is this?" She demanded while getting out of her seat and walked around her desk, looking from Zai to Cloud with narrowed eyes.

"This is my lawyer-" Before he could finish, Danny cut him off.

"I know who this bastard is, what is he doing in my office?" She asked in a low voice, leaning against the front of her desk with her arms folded. Her eyes were locked with Zai's poisonous green ones.

"I forgot about your ill-manners." Zai drawled, boredom was evident in his voice. "Is that the kind of mouth you speak to your children with? I would watch it if I were you."

"How could you even think about a custody battle when your son is in the hospital recovering from a shot wound? And aren't you worried about Calista? You do remember that you have a wife, right?"

"What I do is none of your concern, and of course I'm worried about my wife and my son. He was unconscious when I last saw him. But I suggest you don't say anything if you don't have nothing nice to say. Now... Let's get to the reason why I'm here."

"Yes, let's get to the reason why you're here." Danny repeated, her glare was now on Cloud as she spoke. Cloud looked away from her gaze, as if he knew what he did was wrong and uncalled for.

"I thought it would be a kind gesture to let you know what you are up against. You know, you should look into a career change. This one could jeopardize your chances of being able to keep your kids. Especially if you continue the investigation on Calista's disappearance."

"Don't you want your wife found?" Danny asked as calmly as she could.

"Of course. But I just think you aren't the right person for the job."

"What about Cloud's job? He's a police officer. His job is just as dangerous." She pointed out with irritation in her voice.

"Cloud didn't tell you? He was promoted to Commissioner. That's actually a well-respected position."

Danny looked at Cloud with an empty smile, "Congratulations, Cloud." Her attention turned to Zai, the smile still remained on her lips, "But I'm not giving up my job. But I applaud your attempts to try to scare me. But it's not going to work."

"Confident, are we? Alright then. I guess we'll see the results when the court date comes. Good luck to you then, Ms. Strife." Zai nodded to her solemnly, a light smirk formed on his lips. When he turned to the door, Cloud was already walking out of it. But before he could get out of the office, he could hear Danny's voice.

"What? Not man enough to talk to me alone?" She asked in a taunting voice.

Cloud looked at her with an icy look.

"I'll see you in court."


	5. Anger Management

**Anger Management**

When the door shut to her office, Danny walked back around her desk and sat down, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, counting to ten. Though, that didn't work. The second she got to ten, the door swung open, and the stress ball in her hand flew at Mitch's face. Catching it, Mitch sighed in relief, then frowned at the look in her eyes. It was a mixture of anger, fear and emotional pain. And it wasn't sitting well with him. He knew a lot about Danny, like how her full, and maiden name was Danielle Lynn Hassakaiyah. Like how she had married at sixteen, and had three babies two years later. Like how she had devoted herself to Cloud when they were together.

Like how her kids and her best friend were her world.

Growing up, Danny had, had it kinda rough. Her mom had died giving birth to her, and her dad wasn't exactly there for her. And up until she was making it through her last year of middle school, she had, had some kind of illness that could have killed her with how careless she tended to be. She didn't really have anything she cared for. Except for Calista. Throughout school, Danny had always told Calista that she was the only thing making her fight for her life. And it paid off. They had found a cure, and she was healthy by high school. And then she met Cloud, married young, and had children just before she entered college.

And her kids...She had grown attached to them, and would do anything to keep them. Even if Roxas and Ventus gave her hell. She still loved her kids, and the fact that Cloud, after several years of not really caring for full custody, was trying to fight her for custody was only proving several years of anger management as a fail.

"I swear to God, Mitch. If I see that good-for-nothing, dead-beat bastard on the streets, all four of them will be in foster care." She ground out.

"Dude, let me kick his ass." Mitch pleaded. He had only met Danny the last year of high school, and was already giving Cloud a hard time, warning him whenever he thought the blond was going to hurt her. As time progressed, he learned to hate Cloud more and more. And by this point, Mitch just wanted to put the blond six feet under. It may not have seemed like Danny had suffered too much from all of this, but if one looked underneath her shield, they'd be able to see how much it really effected her. Not only because she had cared for Cloud, but because what was going on between herself and Cloud was really hurting the kids.

When she looked at all of them, it seemed as if Midna was the only one that wasn't really developing any issues because of the divorce, and custody battle. At that thought, she let her head hit her desk. "Sora...He's already relapsing..." She muttered, and Mitch growled, walking further into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Roxas is getting into more and more trouble, and Ventus is closing up more..." She listed off, a heavy, shaky sigh escaping her lips when she felt Mitch's hand rest on her back.

Mitch really hated seeing her like this, and wanted to tell her to go home and rest, but he knew that she would just sit up, try to punch him in the face, and force herself to go back to work. So instead, he just stood by her side, rubbing her back while she folded her arms on her desk, hiding her face while trying to fight back tears. "Danny..."

"What am I gonna do, Mitch?" Her voice cracked, and she refused to lift her head. It was all piling up on her, and fast. It was actually starting to scare him a bit. He wondered what she would do if she lost the battle, and Calista never showed up. And it made his stomach turn. With a growl, he removed his hand from her back and started for the door, and Danny lifted her head. "Mitch...?"

"I'll be right back." He said, all but storming out of her office. Hurrying outside, he caught Cloud just before he was too far from the building. Grabbing him, her slammed his back into the wall. "I swear to God, Strife. One wrong move and I will gladly lose my job just to put your good for nothing ass in the hospital, and possibly even in a coma. That girl has enough going on in her life without you stepping in and trying to take away _her_ kids. Up until four years ago, you had no interest in keeping them, so why don't you just fucking back off?" He growled out.

As he finished this, he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling back on him a bit. "Is there a problem here?" An unfamiliar voice to Mitch sounded, and Cloud looked relieved as Mitch snapped around, swinging at the intruder, his eyes narrowing more when Zack Fair caught his fist. "C'mon now, fighting in front of a police station?"

"Tell your bitch to back off. Danny doesn't need his bullshit right now." Mitch didn't know Zack personally, but he had heard all the details he needed from Danny to know who he was, and what role he played.

"I think it would be wise if you backed off. I've been staying out of this fight, but if necessary, I'll jump in, in a heartbeat." Zack warned, though his tone was light.

"Let's just go..." Cloud murmured, turning to walk away. He was far from afraid of Mitch, but like Mitch and Calista, he could easily read what was behind Danny's eyes. In a way, he felt bad, but at the same time, he felt that the kids _would_ be better off with him. He just wasn't aware of the damage he was about to cause. Zack blinked and watched Cloud a moment, before releasing Mitch and starting to follow him, which only pissed Mitch off more.

"What? You can't face Danny like a civilized adult on your own? Are you a fucking chicken, Strife? She put her damn trust in you, and this is how you repay her? I hope you get hit by a fucking bus! The next time I see you around Danny, you'll be in a recovery room, waiting for a new face!" He yelled after Cloud. How he wanted to just run up behind the blond, jump his ass and beat the bloody snot out of him.

However, that would cost him his job...

And his freedom.

"He has quite a mouth..." Zack said, glancing over his shoulder.

"Tell me about it. Every time I show up, he's hovering around Danny's office like a damn hawk. It's like he's her body guard or something..." Cloud muttered with a sigh.

"Danny doesn't need a body guard..." Zack pointed out, remembering the first time he had seen Cloud and Danny get into it. He literally had to pull them off of each other. With the help of Calista. Cloud had said something about her job, and she snapped, literally jumping him. Cloud wasn't exactly afraid to fight back with her, considering Danny had always told him that she was an equal to him. If they fought physically, she wouldn't want him to hold back just because she was female. After the fight, Cloud had to admit to Zack that he was afraid Danny was going to call the police on him, but he was never arrested.

Granted, he did leave Danny's house with a swollen cheek and a black eye.

"Are they dating?" Zack asked, turning back to Cloud, he looked to him.

"If so, it'd be another strike against her, with his lack of anger-management." the blond replied, looking back to see Mitch heading back inside. "But, I'm not sure." he then admitted. Zack nodded, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulders as they walked to the car.

"Well, no matter what happens, I'm here for ya." Zack tried to encourage. Despite this, he did want a family with Cloud. It amused him how, when Roxas would sneak over to their house, he would call Cloud his 'Mother' and himself his 'Father'. And the reactions Cloud had to it. It was always as if they had been a family from the beginning...

Until Danny found Roxas and dragged him home, but not before she gave Cloud a piece of her mind on the subject, which ended in an argument between Danny and Zack. It wasn't that Danny had anything against their relationship, she just wouldn't stand for an outsider to jump into their battles.

Danny had managed to distract herself for the most part of the day, and no one dared walk into her office in fear Mitch would put them in the hospital, or Danny would try and murder them. She finally tore her gaze away from her computer screen when her boss entered the room, clearing his throat. It was clear that Mitch had said something about earlier, and Danny was wanting to punch him in the face. "You've been here long enough. I think you should go home and rest for a little while. Take your mind off of..."

"With all-due respect, sir, if I leave this office, nothing good is going to come from it." She cut him off. Her eyes were red from the emotions she had flew through, throughout the day, and her body just made her look like she was ready to collapse. A frown creased the man's face.

"Danielle, I understand that there's a lot going on right now, but if you don't take a break, take a deep breath and sort through some of your thoughts, I'm going to have to pull you off this..." Before he could even finish his sentence, Danny stood, closing her eyes and turned to grab her jacket. This made the man miss the tears that slipped down her cheeks.

"I'll be in early tomorrow." Her voice was barely above a whisper. It was extremely rare for Danny to show how upset she was, but now it seemed like everything was just falling apart. Mitch was quick to follow behind Danny as she headed for the front doors.

"Do you want to come with you?" He asked, his tone soft, and Danny offered him a weak, empty smile and shook her head.

"No, thanks. I think I'm gonna visit Oz before I head home." She replied, and Mitch frowned, but didn't say anything more as Danny walked out of the building. However, he did wait a few seconds before he decided to follow her to her car. With a small hug, Danny departed, assuring Mitch she'd be alright, and left him in the parking lot, watching after her.

"I'm gonna kill him..." He growled out, turning to storm back into the office.

**~Panda~**


	6. No Hard Feelings

_No Hard Feelings_

After the incident at the office, Danny had decided to check in on Oz, relieved to see him doing better than he was the night before. She gave the kid credit for pushing himself like he was to get better, but she also 'scolded' him for doing it, telling him he needed his rest, and that his mother would be fine. She promised, swore, she would find his mother, her best friend, and left him with a kiss on the forehead and a light goodnight before heading home.

Pulling into the drive, she made a face when she saw an all too familiar vehicle. Climbing out of the car, she started for the front door, and could already hear Mitch and Midna having an 'intense' debate over something. Rolling her eyes, she pushed the door open, to see Midna standing in the front room with a smirk on her lips, and a slightly startled, and flustered look on Mitch's.

"I don't wanna know." Danny stated, closing the door behind her, tossing her jacket to the couch, before looking to Midna, a delicious aroma filling the air. "Did you cook, Midna?" She asked, tilting her head, and Midna shook her head, the smirk widening a bit.

"Nope. Your new boyfriend did. Oh, look at the time! Homework!" She chirped, turning and walking for the stairs, leaving a slightly confused, yet blushing, Danny behind with a quiet Mitch. At the sound of Midna slamming her bedroom door, Danny turned around to face Mitch, who shrugged a little.

"Kids?" He offered with a half-smile, though inwardly he wanted to run after that little monster of a girl. Well, not really. But Mitch has always kept his feelings for Danny under-wraps as much as possible. It wasn't too difficult considering their jobs would be at stake if he ever let his feelings for Danny grow anymore than friendship. They both knew that. Little did everyone else know, that they shared a childhood together. Well, everyone, meaning everyone on the force.

"I'll scold her later for it." Danny said with a weary smile. "So, since when did you cook?"

"Since my dad decided to pass down his Five-Star cooking skills down to his only son?" He tried with a half smile before heading to the kitchen, Danny followed close behind him. "But, all joking aside... Midna invited me. Well, she said that she needed help with her homework and that you were going to be at the office late. So, I thought.. Why not cook a meal for the family?"

"I'm starting to wonder if Midna has a crush on you." Danny pointed at him with an accusing look on her features, making Mitch throw her a playful glare in return.

"I'm not like my father who likes to date his students." He responded matter-of-factly. His father was a Math teacher for the local high school, and recently began dating sixteen year old Isabella Young. Mitch loved his father, but that will be something Mitch will never be okay with. It was extremely disturbing to know that his father was dating someone younger than him. When Mitch questioned him about it, he was countered with 'Do I ever question you about your love life?' The truth was, his father always had faith in Mitch when it came down to his judgment of character.

"Yeah, I like your dad... Just.."

"Yeah, I know. You don't have to say it." Mitch cut her off, knowing that she had the same view when it came to his dad's love life.

Silence filled the air until the clanking of pots could be heard from Mitch setting up the table neatly. He and Danny sat down at the table at the exact same time.

"I haven't had spaghetti in a while." Danny told him while spinning the noodles on the tines of the fork. Lifting it up, stopping herself when it was a few inches from her mouth. Lowering the fork from her mouth, she looked up to Mitch with a questioning look. "Mitch, something's on your mind. I've known you long enough." Mitch hesitated, opening his mouth, then closing it again, before putting his fork down and looking Danny in the eyes with a serious look in his eyes.

"We've known each other since the end of middle school. We've been friends for so long. I want..."

"Mitch, stop." Danny cut him off, holding her hand up, an apologetic look crossing her features.

"I want to be more than just friends." Silence fell over them and Danny dropped her eyes to the table.

"Mitch, there's way too much going on right now. I can't balance the case, my kids, the custody battle and..."

"I get it." Mitch's voice was cold, and Danny lifted her gaze, a very light hint of fear in her eyes as he stood.

"That's not fair. You don't get it." She protested, starting to get up.

"You don't want to be with me, you'd rather be hung up on him. I get it alright." He shot back, walking for the front door. Danny followed after him, her eyes narrowing.

"That's not true and you know it, Mitch!" They stopped at the door, Mitch holding it open as he turned to her.

"It's not? Danny, you two have been an on-again-off-again couple since ninth grade! That's too fucking long, get over it!" Danny opened her mouth, then closed it and smiled. Without a second thought, she shoved him out the door by the shoulder and slammed the door shut, locking it.

"I'll see you at work, Mitchel!" She yelled through the door, turning around and heading back for the kitchen.

**-Evelyn-**

**-Panda-**


End file.
